Shirley MacLaine has joined the cast of 'Downtown Abbey' / Nick Briggs, Carnival Film & Television Limited

by Ann Oldenburg, USA TODAY

by Ann Oldenburg, USA TODAY

Shirley MacLaine is stirring things up a bit on Season 3 of PBS' hot British soap Downton Abbey as Lady Cora's mother, Martha Levinson, who arrives from New York. The actress, 78, chats about the show, New Year's resolutions, yoga, love and more with writer Jeanne Wolf for The Saturday Evening Post.

On being a fan of Downton Abbey: "Actually I hadn't even watched it until my hairdresser told me how much she loved it. So I tuned in. Shortly afterward, they signed me to play Martha Levinson so I sat down and viewed them all‚?¶and I just became addicted."

On dressing for Downton Abbey: "Those authentic costumes took some work. The corsets were really demanding and the buttons on everything were so small. I understood the class system after getting ready every morning to go on set. I realized women of that time couldn't get it together without a couple of servants."

On acting with Maggie Smith: "We get along famously. She told me that we had met 40 years ago backstage at the Oscars next to the catering table. I was up for something, and there was this big chocolate cake sitting there. And somebody else won. Maggie said, 'You know what you did, dear? You tucked right into that chocolate cake and said, "#*&% it. I don't care if I'm ever thin again.' I didn't remember it. Maggie has a better memory. She's one year younger than I am."

On making New Year's resolutions: "I am a student of change. I don't want to make resolutions because I know I'm not going to keep them."

On loving someone forever: "I think the need to promise to be with someone until the end of your days is foolish. And we don't even want to have a discussion about monogamy. It just makes me laugh. I think the real challenge of love is more about sustaining a relationship with yourself. If you don't have that with yourself, you can't have it with others. Relationships keep changing, too. So I guess the only thing consistent is change, really. That's what I'm learning. I'm much more attracted and, I think always have been, to peace and humor than I am to sexuality."

On how young actresses today have to deal with paparazzi and fanatical fans: "You know that is so hard on those kids. I'm so concerned for them. This is a terrible thing what's happening. It's putting into perspective the price of the necessity to be famous. Everybody seems to want to be acknowledged by others to the extent that they're not happy with themselves as they are. And that probably is the lesson here. Whatever their reasons for wanting to be famous have really impacted their personal growth."

On living in the electronic, computer-driven world: "This whole thing with technology? Oh my God, the other day I was in a movie theater and the person in front of me was looking at his iPad and watching another movie while he's looking at the screen. And I thought, 'I won't go to dinner with somebody who's going to text me across the table.'"

On what life means to her: "I think it's a cross between what's real and what's comedy. When you analyze it you realize life itself is kind of a funny joke. Look at what's happening in the world. If you don't laugh, you've got serious problems. I think comedy-a sense of humor-must be born in certain people. Maybe it starts when you're a little kid and the dog steps on your foot. You either think it's funny or an imposition. I think I have a gift of quirky insanity. We need more comedy, more laughter, and a more ironic way of thinking about life."

On yoga: "I used to do 75 postures. I was really good. I was an advanced student. I don't think I could do three now ‚?¶ I try to listen to my body and my body says, 'You can't put yourself in that twisted, upper-down dog pose.' But I think it was a mistake to give it up."